running

Confession: I like a clean kitchen. If my kitchen is clean and my sink is empty, I feel like I really have it all together.

Confession: I sometimes empty the dishwasher of clean dishes just enough to be able to fit the dirty dishes from the sink.

Confession: I have two pair of the exact same kind of jeans. (American Eagle, skinny, if you’re wondering!)

Confession: I wear these jeans WAY too many times in between washings.

Confession: I would LOVE to be an author, but I probably won’t be. I am a great lover of words, but not a good writer of words. I enjoy nothing more than getting lost in a story. You might think this would be complimentary to writing a good story, but I’ve found that it doesn’t work that way.

I can dream up all sorts of scenes and story lines and fill several pages with the tellings, but that’s as far as it goes. And as hard as I try, I cannot string those scenes together to make a complete story.

Thankfully, I had the smarts to make my 30 Before 30Bucket List item say “Write a book. Or part of a book.” Technically, I can cross this one out because I have written more than my fair share of “parts of a book”. I hope one day I can knit these parts together into a story that begs to be read.

Confession: I throw important things in the trash ALL.THE.TIME. I have thrown away the new credit cards that came in the mail, too many need-to-be-paid bills to count, a brand new pair of shoes, and so, so much more. This is probably my #1 flaw, if you ask my husband.

Confession: I have not ran in more than a month. That is the longest stretch without running since I revived my love affair with running post-high school.

Ok, “On Broken Dreams” is a tad dramatic for what this post is really all about. Don’t get too worked up about that title yet, until I explain 🙂

This weekend, I was supposed to run the Country Music Half Marathon in Nashville, TN. I paid the race entry fee and EVERYTHING. And I didn’t go. For several reasons, but mainly because I didn’t train for the run. Several weeks ago when it was time to start upping my mileage and all that good stuff, I made the conscious decision not to do it. The part that makes me the most sick about this is that I also forfeited my chance to see Charles Esten, Clare Bowen and Chase Rice in concert. This decision also meant altogether failure on my 30 Before 30 list. Next year when this race rolls around, I’ll be the big 3-0.

You are probably wondering what made me skip this race, especially after having paid for it. Wouldn’t shelling out the money beforehand be a good motivation to get the training in? Well, you would think so. I have several excuses and I’m not going to get into them all here– I simply didn’t do the work necessary to run the race.

Which leads me to the whole 30 Before 30 list, or Bucket Lists, in general. As I look back over my list, that I created almost 2 years ago, I see lots of issues.

I have now seen the color run and have no desire to run it. It’s fun to watch, but I’m not interested in having all that colored chalk sucked up my nostrils. No thanks.

Doing the Avon 2-day Breast Cancer walk is a HUGE commitment. One that I still want to do, but will take several years of planning and saving, none of which I have done yet. Add to that the fact that my partner-in-crime is expecting a little one in a few months, and we are going to put this off for a while.

I remember vividly making this list, wanting to push myself to run a longer distance, and thinking the Country Music Half looked like so much fun. And that is the entire thought process that went into adding this item to the list. So really, if I break it WAY down, my bottom line was running a half and I’ve done that. Twice. And while I still want to do more long races, I feel like I could cross this off my list…..

Other big ticket (i.e.: priced) items like “Visit New Orleans” and “See Ground Zero” are still definitely things I want to do, I just don’t see them happening in the next 8 months (that’s when I turn 30.. shhhh).

So all this rambling about broken dreams and 30 Before 30 lists has led me to this: I’m renaming my list. (I know, that was a lot of build up for nothing.) 30 Before 30 is soon going to become my Bucket List. And I’m allowing myself the freedom to change or edit this list however I want to, because it’s my list and I can do that. So there.

And now I’m curious– 30 Before 30, 40 Before 40, 100 Before 100, Bucket List (whatever list you have)—what things are on YOUR list?

I love running. I love most physical activities, but running is definitely my favorite. That being said, it is SO hard to get back into the habit of exercising after a break. (Or get started, period.). This is also the time of year when all those New Years Resolutions start sliding. You were doing so well working out then the cold weather put everything on hold. Now you’re trying to get back into the habit.

After the half that killed my hip three weeks ago, I’ve run a grand total of three times. My hip is better. It didn’t hurt on any of those three runs, but it does ache when I’m sitting still. It’s especially rough on long car rides (which I’ve had several of lately) and right before I fall asleep at night. With all that, I’ve gotten out of the habit of exercise.

With my next half being two months away, I’ve GOT to get back on the training plan. If it’s this hard for ME, someone who generally loves exercise, to restart my running plan, I can only imagine how tough it is for those of you who don’t enjoy sweating. So for all of us, here are my tips to start (or restart) an exercise habit.

1. Just go. Go in the morning. Go in the evening. Go on your lunch break. Just go. Don’t talk to yourself about it. Don’t let that time be optional. Look at your calendar, find a time that works for you, and go!

2. Find a partner. Or two. With the weather slowly getting nicer, I’m rounding up some friends to meet me for early morning runs. Having accountability is the number one way to ensure you won’t skip a workout.

3. Have a motivational wall. Whether it’s a physical wall or a Pinterest board, gather together some things that motivate you. It doesn’t need to be all photos either. Seeing a super toned female in a bikini is not my motivation. Yes, I want to be super toned, and I’m proud of that girl for her achievement, but I don’t want to motivate myself by the success of someone else. I prefer my motivation to come from quotes. You can find my motivational Pinterest board here.

4. Make it fun. Even though I love running, it can get boring if I do it every day. Find something you love, but still mix it up. Try new things. Do what you love a different way. I can run for fun, train for races, or work on speed. I also like to throw in yoga, spin, kickboxing….anything to change up my routine so boredom doesn’t set in.

I have exciting news!! This year, I have been chosen as an Athleta Esprit de She ambassador. I’ll be participating in the RUN Atlanta 10k on November 6 in Atlanta, Georgia. They offer both a 5k and 10k. I would LOVE for you to join me. You can get more info here.

You may also view other ambassadors and their stories here. You can also purchase Esprit de She gear here. This is my favorite.

Esprit de She is partnered with Girls on the Run. Per their website:

Girls on the Run is a transformational physical activity-based positive youth development program for 8 to 13 year-old girls designed to develop and enhance girls’ competencies to successfully navigate life experiences. At Girls on the Run, trained and supportive coaches and volunteers teach life skills through dynamic, conversation-based lessons and running games. The program culminates with the girls being physically and emotionally prepared to complete a celebratory 5K running event. The goals of the program are to develop and improve competence, unleash confidence through accomplishment, develop strength of character, respond to others and oneself with care and compassion, create positive connections with peers and adults and make a meaningful contribution to community, all while establishing a lifetime appreciation of health and fitness.

I am so proud to be part of such an amazing organization and I can’t wait to see what 2014 has in store!

I have to start this post with a photo of my favorite spectators. After dropping me off at the start line, they were able to grab breakfast and then wait in the warm car before coming out to cheer me in for the finish. I was so happy to hear their voices. (It did hurt a little when Libby said, “Mommy, I didn’t think you were ever going to finish!” Thanks, Lib.)

The race began at 8am eastern time, which was 7am for me. I had woken up feeling pretty crummy (hello, UTI symptoms), so I took Tylenol before the race began. The event coordinators were REALLY good with organization–we started at 8 am on the dot. The half runners and full runners both began at the same time–the race course was a loop around the gardens, so the half runners completed the loop once and the full runners did it twice.

The race reviewers weren’t kidding when they said the course was hilly. I don’t know that any part of the course was flat….at all. I felt like I was either running up a hill or down a hill. Even with all those hills, I felt strong. I paced myself really well (as opposed to previous races) and was hitting a steady 8:30 per mile going into the 7th mile.

Around the end of mile 6, I started to feel a nagging pain in my right hip. Nothing severe, just unexpected. I’ve never actually hurt during a run at all, and I’ve especially never had hip pain, so I didn’t quite know what was going on.

The course was beautiful–winding through trees and flowers and around a lake. The weather was great–39 degrees with zero wind. Chugging through mile 7 listening to my tunes and taking in my surroundings. All was great in my world.

Mile 8 I made a friend. He strikes up conversation. (Thankfully, he did most of the talking and I did most of the listening.) He was a trainer for the Biggest Loser contestants once they returned home from the show. He had actually just completed the Disney World Marathon two weeks prior, expenses paid (flight, room, and race fee) by a client who wanted him to pace her. Now that’s a job I could handle, right there 🙂 Conversation with this friend lasted a little while, and I made it to mile 10 without thinking about my hip.

I’m not sure what happened between mile 10 and 11 (I’m thinking the Tylenol wore off), but my hip started screaming. Every step I took was excruciatingly painful. At mile 11, my mental toughness (or stubbornness, maybe) kicked in. I was determined to finish. I had made it that far with a pretty steady pace and with zero walking, so I wasn’t quitting.

Miles 11-13.1 were miserable. My hip pain radiated down my leg to my knee and into my foot. I was fighting back tears, and my pace had slowed to somewhere just over 10 minutes per mile. Still not walking, but not good pacing either. (I actually attempted walking, but the hip still hurt just as much, so I figured I might as well run.) I was SO glad to see the sign for the finish. I heard my girls cheering me on and mustered up this smile for a photo. Totally faked and completely for my girls.

I crossed the finish in 1:56:42, with an average pace of 8:55 per mile. My first half was 1:55:16 and almost completely flat. Even though I didn’t PR, I feel like I ran a better race this time when you consider the hills. And the pain.

I made Justin take this picture of me with the girls before literally falling into him and having him drag me to the truck. I don’t know if it was the hills, or if I stepped off the trail and pulled a muscle during the run, or what, but as I’m writing this (on Wednesday) I’m still having hip pain. It has gotten slightly better, but not much. I can walk without falling now. After the race on Sunday, I would literally stumble with each step. When I put weight on my right foot, something in my hip area hurt so much that the muscle would give and not support me. Crazy, right?

I’m completely baffled by this race. It was superbly organized, and utterly beautiful. Definitely a race course I would recommend. They have several options–5k, half, and full marathons. The hills were killer, but who doesn’t like a good challenge every now and then? What confuses me is my hip. I’m not sure what the problem was (is?!?), so I don’t know how to prevent it from happening again in a future race. My plan is to give it a few days of complete rest, and then work on stretching it out really well. Hopefully, I’ll be able to walk normal and start running again next week. Until then, I’ll just be limping around over here. 🙂

This weekend, we traveled to Pine Mountain, Georgia. It was about a 4 hour trip and we didn’t leave until after school. With the time change, we arrived at the Mountain Creek Inn around 10pm, Eastern Time. We checked in, went to our rooms, and fell straight into bed.

The room was pretty standard, with a king size bed and a small bathroom. The Mountain Creek Inn does have a nice lounge area with two restaurants. The girls and Justin tried out one of them–The Plants–the morning of the race. They gave it 4 stars.

Saturday morning we woke up pretty early and went to the Country Kitchen for breakfast. We enjoyed pancakes, omelets, and biscuits and gravy with this view:

The southerner in me loved that they served my milk in a mason jar:

Following breakfast, we drove about 15 minutes to the Pine Mountain Animal Safari. We have been to a drive-through safari before, but this was by far the best. So much so that it deserves it’s own post, which I’ll try to get to tomorrow. But I’ll leave you with this teaser:

Yes, that’s a zebra trying to eat my hair!

When we FINALLY left the safari, it was time to go the race expo and pick up my packet. I’m going to save all race information for another post as well, so you’ll get the race recap soon!

Before leaving the gardens, the girls wanted to go to the Butterfly Center at Callaway. This was an epic fail–because it’s been so cold, we ended up seeing more dead butterflies than we did live ones. We did get a picture of one, very pretty blue monarch:

We left the gardens with no clue what to do. I had picked up a ‘Pine Mountain Experience Guide’ from the safari, so we leafed through it. When I saw the ad for Warm Springs Winery, I knew that was it. Visiting a winery is on my 30 Before 30 list and it’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I called ahead to make sure it was ok to bring the girls. When we arrived, the vitner gave the girls grape juice (from their own vines), pretzels, and wine crackers. (Wine crackers are now K’s favorite snack..oops!)
We were all educated on the wine-making process and the nerd in me loved it! Justin and the girls enjoyed it too and even asked questions. I was very pleased with the way the staff included the girls. Justin and I sampled a few of the wines and the girls sampled grape juice, chips and muscadine salsa, and pretzels. (Libby even picked apart the tortilla chips. She said “I taste a little sugar… and a lot of salt.” So funny!)

After the tastings, the girls made wreaths from the dried out grape vines. They had so much fun!

We left the winery with a bottle of grape juice, a jar of Muscadine salsa, a box of wine crackers, and an un-named and thus, un-labeled bottle of white wine.

Dinner was at Aspen’s Mountain Grill. It was a very quaint, homey restaurant with a mountain vibe. There are animals on the walls–a bear skin, a hog’s head, an elk head–and it’s nicknamed “the Hunter’s Hangout.”

After eating, we stopped in at Lulubelle’s Ice Cream parlor and enjoyed some Baskin Robbins ice cream. With our belly’s stuffed, we headed back to the Inn and were asleep by 8. It was a very fun, very BUSY day, and we were all exhausted!

Sunday morning, the race began at 7am (our time), which meant we were up and getting ready at 5:30. That’s early! The race happened (more on that later) and while I ran, Justin and the girls had breakfast. After the race, we stopped in at Cracker Barrel for breakfast (where I properly refueled) and then a potty break at the Bass Pro Shop. While there, the girls posed in front of the fish tank:

They are getting much better at actually wanting to take pictures for me. They requested I take this one “for the blog”. Isn’t that funny?

Our getaway was SO much fun and I would recommend that anyone within driving distance make the trip. It was such an enjoyable, beautiful, laid-back place. Perfect for a weekend trip!

Confession: This is what the planter on my front porch looks like. Apparently you have to water pansy’s to keep them alive. Who knew?

Confession: I have a cleaning lady. She comes to my house every other Friday, and it makes my heart so happy when I walk in and smell Pine-sol and see the clean. And knowing that I didn’t have to lift a finger to make it happen. I’m a little bit spoiled like that.

Confession: At the beginning of 2013, I did Project Life. If you don’t know much about it, the idea is that you create one 2-page layout each week for the year. I did really well from January until about April. The problem with scrapbooking each week of your life is the ordinary day. The day where nothing new happens. And yes, there is definitely something to be said about documenting that ordinary day–your routines, your schedule, your outfits–it can also become boring. You can only take so many pictures of your children eating waffles in their pajamas before school, and the coffee maker that keeps you going on those early mornings. So, to make a long story short, I quit PL 2013 because of those ordinary days. Blogging is a little bit like Project Life. (No, I’m NOT going to quit blogging.) What I mean is, it’s so much easier on the days when I have a story to tell. When something happens other than the everyday. I made a commitment several months ago to attempt to post everyday, or at least every other day. That hasn’t happened, and I’m not ok with that. Because, unlike Project Life, I CAN find a story in our everyday. A great run, a funny happening, a brag about one (or both) of the girls. You get the picture. And this is my public commitment to work on that.

Confession: My girls are super smart. Kyndall took a REALLY hard statewide assessment today. There were 40 questions and she didn’t miss any. She is SO smart and I am so glad that learning comes easy to her. It is something that she loves to do and I hope that never changes.

Confession: This is what my bedroom looks like when I pack for a weekend. Four people + 2 days = 4 bags, 4 pillows, 4 jackets, 2 seatbelt pets (because they’re awesome!) and 2 activity packs for the girls (complete with books, coloring books, pens, crayons, and I-pads).

Confession: I am so looking forward to the race this weekend, but I’m really nervous. I trained really hard until about 2 weeks ago, then I just dropped the ball. This is a bad habit that I have that I really need to work on. That being said, I am anxious to see how this goes. Fingers crossed all that previous training didn’t go to waste!

Confession: I use the word ‘really’ way to much. Seriously, I think I see it about 10 times in this post alone. What’s an adjective for ‘really’, besides ‘very’?

Confession: I sent the above picture to my sister today. And, let’s just be honest, the answer to that question varies from day to day.

Promise: I will have an actual story, and much better pictures, when we get back from this ‘race-cation’. (That’s a new word I learned on Twitter!) See you then!

It’s official, guys. I am strongly coveting my own Boston Marathon Treadmill by ProForm. I mean, how pretty is this?

Doesn’t that just make you want to go for a run? And as many miles as I’ve logged on my cheap-o treadmill, I think I deserve it! Too bad one of our resolutions is to pay off some bills before making any non-necessary purchases. (And I tried to convince J that this WAS necessary. He wasn’t buying it.) That being said, I am setting a new goal–putting money in my piggy bank to buy this beauty. By the time I’ve saved enough, this will probably be much cheaper, too! Ha!

My favorite thing about this treadmill? The ifit technology. It combines with Google Maps to let you run virtually in several locations. The treadmill will automatically adjust it’s incline with that of the route. Obviously, the Boston Marathon is a route option. London, New York, Honolulu-many of the most elite marathons in the world have a route on ifit. You can also choose scenic locations–the Golden Gate Bridge, Brooklyn Bridge, Washington D.C., Mt. Rushmore, the French Riviera, the Oregon Coast. The 2012 Olympic Torch Run route. I could go on and on. (And trust me, to J, I have gone on and on and on!)

It’s as close as you can come to running outside without actually running outside. And I’m so jealous of every single person who has one. One day. One day, I’ll have my own 🙂

I love my job, I do. I mean, I REALLY love my job. But on mornings like this, when we don’t set an alarm and the girls snuggle with me in the recliner. When we get ready if we want to and when we want to. When I have my coffee sitting at home instead of rushing out the door. Mornings where the recliner is full, and my heart is overflowing.

Morning like this make me wish I home-schooled my girls. I can really see the appeal.

Since Wednesday, my running is going strong. I feel like my training for the Callaway Gardens half marathon is right on track 🙂 On Wednesday, I ran 3 miles on the treadmill. <–This was sort of my warm-up after not running for an entire week. On Thursday, I cranked out 7 miles, again on the treadmill. Today, I totaled 4 miles. My plan is to run 3 on Saturday and 12 on Sunday to complete my training according the plan. I’m also participating in Run This Year 2014, with a goal of 2,014 miles this year. Check it out and sign yourself up!

I’ve also officially signed up for the Rock ‘N’ Roll Nashville half marathon on April 26. Gearing up to cross that off my 30 Before 30 list. And speaking of my 30 Before 30 list, that whole “Visit New Orleans” thing just got easier. One of my BEST friends is moving there later this week. (I’m super sad about her leaving, but I’m trying to see the positive!)

In other news, I went grocery shopping yesterday. I planned out the required 3 meals that I’m to cook for the week and made my list accordingly. Wouldn’t you know that I left my list sitting on the counter? So typical! I somehow managed to pick up ALMOST everything we needed. Our three meals will include Lemon-Garlic Shrimp with Baked Potato and Veggies, Potato Soup, and Taco Salad. I’m banking on eating leftovers a few nights and possible Bacon, Egg, and Cheese sandwiches another. (FYI: I consider BEC sandwiches cooking, so that would be overachieving on my part!) Shout-out to Courtney for suggesting emeals as an option for new recipes.

I’m noticing a trend with my workouts lately. I do REALLY well at the beginning of the week, and then not so well at the end. The end of our week just seems to get busier somehow?!? This week went a little like this:

Monday: 4.5 miles on the treadmill with my new friend Lipstick Jungle.

Tuesday: 4.5 miles on the treadmill.

Friday: 4 miles on the treadmill. Making my way through Season 2 of Lipstick Jungle.

And that’s it. Total miles this week = 13.

No long run that is very much needed for this training. No outdoor runs at all. My plan for this coming week is to switch it up a little–I’m going to attempt a long run early in the week (Monday or Tuesday) and then the shorter runs towards the end. We’ll see how that goes. 🙂

Yesterday, we had Christmas with my Dad’s Dad’s side of the family (That’s not confusing at all.) for brunch and then Justin’s Dad’s side for lupper. (<–Yes, that’s my word. If there is a brunch, why can there not be a lupper?)

Via Instagram. Our Papaw ALWAYS makes deer jerky and gives it to us for Christmas. We look forward to it every year!

And then, today, we had Christmas with my Dad’s Mom’s side of the family.

We rounded out the weekend celebrating my cousin’s 13th birthday. She is officially a teenager, and I can’t believe it!

How was your weekend?Any winter training tips to get me ready for this half at the end of January?